Mitch Maher against Biblical Illiteracy

We are all aware of the growing phenomenon of biblical illiteracy, and I sometimes hear people who minister in churches complain that the mammoth proportions of the problem make it difficult to teach and preach because it is necessary to keep things at such a basic level.

One of my classmates from DTS days, Mitch Maher, has set out to address this problem. He has developed a basic over-view of the whole Bible called “Clarifying the Bible.” You can check it out at  www.clarifyingthebible.com. Mitch was discipled by Tommy Nelson of Denton Bible Church, and I know him from our days together in a Hebrew Exegesis elective. He is a clear and likable communicator, and he knows his stuff. The year we graduated, Mitch was chosen by the faculty to preach in chapel, and one of our profs told me his sermon was one of the best he had heard in the DTS chapel. He now pastors Fellowship Bible Church of Jonesboro, Arkansas.

At the website, you can check out a preview video that will give you a taste for what the DVD looks like, and if you are looking to host a conference, Mitch’s contact info is available.

May the Lord use Mitch and this project to turn the tide of biblical illiteracy in evangelical churches!

Interview with Schreiner on his New Testament Theology

Andy Cheung interviews Tom Schreiner on his New Testament Theology, due out soon, here.

Audio of “The Typology of David’s Rise to Power”

Dr. Moore has just posted the links to the text of Graeme Goldsworthy’s addresses on Biblical Theology given this week at SBTS, and he has also linked to the newly posted audio of the Julius Brown Gay Lecture I gave last week, The Typology of David’s Rise to Power: Messianic Patterns in the Book of Samuel (right click, save as).

The Call to Joy and Pain, by Ajith Fernando

The Call to Joy and Pain looks like a great book from Ajith Fernando. It has just been honored among the 2008 Christianity Today Book Award recipients under the category of “The Church/Pastoral Leadership.”

Congratulations to Dr. Fernando and Crossway!

The title captures the Pauline experience of being “sorrowful and yet always rejoicing.” I’m eager to get a chance to read this book. . .

David Hamilton on “Tragic Political Correctness”

My brother has a great post here that is a powerful reminder of the urgent and desperate condition of the lost.

May it spur your soul to spread the news of the death and resurrection of the Lord Christ in view of the certainty of the coming judgment.

I also recommend the poetry in the previous posts (scroll down on the home page).

Interview with Justin Hardin on Paul and the Roman Imperial Cult

I met Justin Hardin a few summers ago when I visited Tyndale House, Cambridge. Justin was there doing his Ph.D., and I feel blessed to call him a friend. His dissertation explored the question of whether Paul is engaging the Imperial Cult in Galatians, and he now teaches at Oklahoma Baptist University, but in September he takes up the post recently vacated by David Wenham at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. For a recent “get to know you” interview, see Matthew Montonini’s post here.

Thanks for taking the time for this interview, Justin! It seems to me that many conservative American students of the New Testament are suspicious of the recent interest in the Roman Imperial Cult because it is often accompanied by what is perceived as an anti-American political agenda (and these conservative NT students would be the first to say that this world is not our home and that our citizenship is in heaven). Because of this liberal-conservative political division, I’d like to start with some questions that deal with these kinds of issues (modern politics), then move to questions that deal more directly with our understanding of the New Testament (historical backgrounds and exegesis). My questions are in bold, and Justin’s replies to my questions will be prefaced by his initials, JKH.

The Typology of David’s Rise to Power: Messianic Patterns in the Book of Samuel

It was my joy and privilege to present a lecture yesterday at Southern Seminary on the topic in the title of this post.

For those interested in the presentation, I will update this post with the audio if/when it appears on the SBTS website. For anyone interested in the bibliography and the sections I had to skip, here is the manuscript: The Typology of David’s Rise to Power.

D. A. Carson’s new book: Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor

Just out from Crossway and just arrived in my mail, I’m eager to read this new book by D. A. Carson, Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson. A few years ago Carson had a short piece on his father in the SBJT Forum that was a powerful reminder that faithfulness, not fame, is our standard.

If you’re looking for a devotional biography, look no further. Buy this little book and enjoy the reminder that all God’s people are ordinary people (even the famous ones).